Rudy Giuliani must appear August 9 to testify before a special grand in an investigation of possible interference in Georgia's 2020 presidential election, a New York judge ordered. File photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI |
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July 20 (UPI) -- A New York judge has ordered Rudy Giuliani to testify next month before a Fulton County special grand jury investigating whether former President Donald Trump and others interfered in Georgia's 2020 elections.
In the court filing submitted Wednesday, New York State Supreme Court Justice Thomas Farber ordered Giuliani to appear Aug. 9, "and on any such other dates as this court may order," after the former New York City mayor and Trump attorney failed to attend a July 13 hearing to challenge the subpoena.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said she is "grateful to the prosecutors and investigators in District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office, who efficiently and effectively secured a New York court order compelling Mr. Giuliani, an important witness, to appear before the Fulton County Special Purpose Grand Jury."
Giuliani's lawyer Robert J. Costello has not commented.
Giuliani was one of seven Trump associates subpoenaed earlier this month, including South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, who recently agreed to testify.
Giuliani is being ordered to testify about appearances in December 2020 before Georgia's state Senate where he and lawyer John Eastman blamed Trump's loss to Democrat Joe Biden on disproven claims of widespread voter fraud. Giuliani presented a video, debunked by Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, of election workers at Atlanta's State Farm Arena producing "suitcases of unlawful ballots."
If Giuliani fails to appear in Atlanta on Aug. 9, a judge can issue a material witness warrant to arrest and detain him until he testifies.
The 23-person special grand jury, which was seated in May from a pool of 200 candidates, has already started hearing evidence.
While the special grand jury will not have the power to return an indictment, it "may make recommendations concerning criminal prosecutions as it shall see fit," Willis said in a letter to the court, adding that "a significant number of witnesses have refused to cooperate with the investigation absent a subpoena requiring their testimony."
